Do I have IC?? Scared!!

[cleocatra]

I'm new here. . About two months ago i got the typical pain when urinating, urgency, frequency and it hung around for about a month, then completly went. Two weeks later i woke up with an intense pain down there, frequency, urgency, burning feeling while urinating. I booked a doctors appointment for that afternoon but by then i was feeling much better, he gave me antibiotics, took a urine sample and sent me on my way. By the next day i felt fine. A few days later i got a letter from him saying in my sample there had been no sign of any bugs, but there was signs of inflamation and it needed to be followed up, i've got a doctors appointment in a few days. I did a bit of research and IC came up again and again. Thing is i'm really scared, i'm maybe clutching at straws but could it be anything else?? I'm only 18 and i'm in my first year at cambridge university doing natural sciences, it's the most time intensive course in the country, if you have a week off they reccomend you redo the year. I cant be ill!! The whole no cure thing just seems really daunting and i'm panicing it's just going to get worse and worse. Guess I just needed to get all this out. Any replies will be great, thankyou.
C.

[ICNDonna]

Hang in there! Hopefully you will have some answers soon. It's possible that you have IC, but not necessarily so. One thing you can do is to have a look at the IC diet (link at the top of this page) and at least eliminate the most common irritants --- sodas, coffee, fruit juices, citrus, tomatoes --- and if you smoke, try a few weeks without that.

Sending warm welcoming hugs,
Donna

[lisabar36]

Hi and :welcome: I am sorry your feeling scared. I would look at the diet as Donna suggested, there are alot of bladder irritants out there in foods. Keep us posted how your appointment goes. There is alot of treatment for IC, so try not to be to worried, it can be overwhelming at first. I can tell you I have had great success with treatments. I hope your doctor can get it figured out for you. Good luck and keep us posted. You came to the right place, there is alot of support here. :) Lisa

[cleocatra]

Well i've calmed down a bit from earlier, the whole thing was just a bit of a shock! I've managed to get a doctors appointment for tomorrow so i'll see what happens then. I tend not to think my bad days are diet related as i go a couple of weeks with no symptoms at all and i drink loads of orange juice, coffee, chocolate etc. (i tend to eat o the go), although i have cut all that out for now, just incase, but they do seem to corrospond with my menstral cycle, a few days before my period. I came of the pill (yazmin) a few months ago, could that be what started all this? I've always had problems with my periods, the reason i went onto the pill was because i used to pass out with pains and i still get really bad PMS (ask my bf, lol). Also do some people's symptoms just stay mild? Or do they generally get worse? At least i haven't had to go through the years of pain with no idea what it is like some people seem to have, i cant imagen how bad that must be! Thankyou.
C

[formom]

Hello:hi:
First of all, good for you for not waisting any time and making a doctor's appt. You are starting at the right place. Go over everything with you doc and go from there. Try not to panic (although we have at first), because there are treatments that really do work like Lisa said. I never thought I would find one but I finally did and now I just get flares around period and for me ovulation. Hopefully you won't even have it, but if you do, you can count on everyone here for support. Good luck and God Bless:) Renee'

[Tara_09]

I know exactly how you feel. I just turned 21 and just got an official diagnosis a couple of weeks ago. I am also in college and have been dealing with this for a couple of years. My freshman year was also very hard. I’m in the same position about missing classes. The worst part about college is you are not allowed to be sick. There are other possible reasons for your symptoms but the best thing you can do is go to the doctor and keep going until you find a reason for your problem and don’t let anyone tell you it is in your head. I know its a hard decision but you have to do what is best for you. Here are a few tips that have helped me in the past. I try to go to the bathroom right before each class starts so that I am able to sit through the entire lecture. I also try to sit close to the door so that if I am having a flare that day I can go to the bathroom without disturbing the class. I also try too allow at least 15 minutes between classes so that I have plenty of time to get there. When I am scheduling for the semester I always try to schedule my classes so that I will have at least one day or afternoon free for doctor appointments and I let them know my schedule. I also cut back on my hours. I tried taking 18 hrs a couple of semesters but I have found its a lot easier to schedule appointments with only taking 15 or 16 hours and its also a lot less stressful. I know all of this isn’t always possible but I found it really helps to form some kind of system to help get through the day. I would also take everyone else's advice and defiantly try the IC diet. I have only been on it for 2 weeks and I can already tell a difference in the frequency and pain. It has really helped me a lot. If you ever have any questions or just want to talk feel free to PM me. I hope you get feeling better soon.:grouphug:

[ICtears]

Hello, Welcome! I am 19 and in college also. I can tell you that it's not the easiest thing to manage school and something like this but it can be done. First of all you don't even know if IC is an issue for you just yet so keep your head up. I'm on medication and I can pretty much rely on a mild level of discomfort pretty much every day but I rarely ever have terrible symptoms. I'm still pretty new to this also so I guess I can't say for sure but keep your head up and talk to the people who care about you because they can really help. Just make sure that you get a good doctor who really wants to help. Let me know if you need to talk. Good luck!!

April

[KWLori]

I am 46 and was just diagnosed this past year. I had my first symptoms back when I was 18-19 in college and I wish so much I had been diagnosed way back then. I am sure I have had this IC for a looong time. Hang in there and good luck to you!